


Out Here in Plain Sight

by sevenimpossiblethings



Series: You Can See It With the Lights Out [2]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-06-09 15:53:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6913561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenimpossiblethings/pseuds/sevenimpossiblethings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one-shots in the backup dancer 'verse. </p><p>Farmers' markets, YouTube, Eames's exes, an <i>Out</i> interview, and a lot of Twitter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In the sprint that is Part I, I skip over a fair amount for pacing purposes. Accordingly, some of these one-shots will take place during the timeframe of Part I (particularly the second half of Chapter 16, where I wave away a year of very interesting events with a couple of headlines). Some of these one-shots will take place after the events of Chapter 16. I think. We'll see.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eames's birthday, a farmers' market, some Twitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Relevant context for Chapter 1:  
> 1\. _“I want to be honest. For me, for us,” says Arthur. “I just. I want to go to the fucking farmers’ market with you and hold your hand, all right? And if that means dealing with even more Twitter hate and more paps and more whatever—then bring it on.”_  
>  _“L.A. farmers’ markets won’t know what hit them,” says Eames. “We are going to be the best farmers’ market hand-holders in the history of people who have held hands at farmers’ markets.”_  
>  2\. The "wise man" Eames quotes in Chapter 12 of Part I is Lin-Manuel Miranda.  
> 3\. Eames's birthday is in November.

“Did Eames like his birthday present?” Ariadne asks. Some three thousand miles away, she’s smirking into her laptop camera. 

“Yours or mine?” says Arthur. 

“Mine, obviously. All of Twitter knows he liked yours,” she says. 

  


_**@eamesss** : Date night with my two favourite people @Lin_Manuel @anotherarthur pic.twitter #birthday4ham _

_**@elizabetheames** : @eamesss Excuse you? _

_**@eamesss** : @elizabetheames my two favourite lads? _

_**@johnoverhere** : @eamesss I am also offended, mate _

_**@johnoverhere** : @eamesss but not too offended because can’t lie you’ve got good taste @anotherarthur _

  


_**@aelife:** To everyone confused by the apparent outfit changes in the pics: they went to both the Fri & Sat evening shows. _

_**@darlingae** : @aelife I want a rich partner who will take me to see Hamilton TWICE for my birthday IS THAT REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK _

_**@keepingupwithae** : CANNOT COMPUTE. ALL OF MY FAVE CINNAMON ROLLS IN ONE PLACE. _

  


“He’s worn it both Wednesdays since,” says Arthur, wrinkling his nose, “so I think it can be safely assumed that he likes it.” 

“You’re welcome,” says Ariadne. “What are you guys up to tomorrow?” 

“Farmers’ market first, then lunch with Mom,” says Arthur. 

“You are an old married couple,” Ariadne proclaims. “I hope your fans realize this. Taylor Swift is a literal cat lady and you are more old-person than she is." 

When Arthur just grins, Ariadne huffs and says, "Fine, which farmers’ market do you go to?

“This week it’s, uh…” Arthur moves the Skype window to his external monitor and opens the relevant document. 

Ariadne narrows her eyes. “You have a spreadsheet for these farmers’ markets, don’t you?” 

“What was I supposed to do?” Arthur says. “Walk into these places blind, and not have a good rating system in place to compare them after?” 

Given their variable schedules—tour may be over, but there’s always meetings (Arthur), auditions (Eames), and photo shoots (both) to attend —simply having a document that details the location, day, and time of each market is critical information (although so far, they’ve always gone to Sunday markets). And since Arthur was going to go to the bother of inputting all of that anyway, he decided he may as well include columns for average ratings across various Internet platforms (with a column for their own rating, once they went), produce specialities, best time window to go, parking availability and so on. Eames insisted Arthur add a column for what he called “the Eames factor,” e.g. if Eames was particularly enamored of a certain seller or, on the other end of the scale, if the market didn’t match his aesthetic ideals regarding the proper amount of chaos and color he believed a farmers’ market ought to have. 

“You are a dork and I love you for it,” says Ariadne. 

“You should make an ‘Ariadne approved’ filter that I can put over my Twitter profile picture,” says Arthur. 

Ariadne’s eyes light up. “You and Eames can have _matching filters_. It’s like matching outfits, but better.”

“And you think _I’m_ the dork,” says Arthur. 

  


Their Sunday morning farmers’ market routine goes like this: Eames drives them to the next new market on the spreadsheet while Arthur navigates. They’ll pick a favorite or two eventually, but right now they’re still exploring their options, and, if Arthur is being honest, he doesn’t think it’s a great idea for them to settle into any sort of public routine. They park and extract the reusable bags (plus an honest-to-goodness basket, shh, it’s just better for some items) from the backseat. Then Arthur grabs Eames’s hand—or Eames takes Arthur’s hand—and Arthur can feel his shoulders squaring, just a little, the way they always do when he’s in public now, and he squeezes Eames’s hand a little tighter and directs them toward the nearest stall. They always buy flowers to bring to Arthur’s mom. 

The first time, Arthur was a mess of nervous and determined and excited and jubilant, and even though he’s settled in the weeks since, he can’t quite decide whether he _wants_ to let himself accept farmers’ markets—accept Sunday mornings in public with Eames—as a good, ordinary thing he gets to have, no celebration necessary, he’s just a guy on a normal outing with his boyfriend, or whether he wants to hold on to that victory, hold it tightly and firmly and never lose that bright, buoyant feeling of _we’re here we made it this is how we wanted it and we have it_. He imagines he’ll change his mind periodically, depending (on their schedules, and industry-typical drama, and possibly the availability of decent strawberries). That’s okay. 

They aren’t usually stopped for pictures, although there are a fair amount of second glances, and on this particular Sunday, they notice a honey seller’s young companion (daughter? niece?) sneaking a candid as they walk away. 

“It’s all right, love,” Eames murmurs into Arthur’s ear. He laces their fingers together. “This is how they know we’re legit.” 

“How’s that?” Arthur asks. 

“Fake couples don’t know how to hold hands correctly. There’s an art to it, you see,” says Eames. 

“Oh really,” says Arthur. 

“Really,” says Eames. “Many a fan theory has been fueled by poor hand-holding technique.” 

“I don’t even want to know,” says Arthur. “I also don’t want to know why or how you know this.” 

“I am a man of many talents,” says Eames. 

“Such as convincing hand-holding,” says Arthur. 

“I did promise you we would be the best,” says Eames. 

  


**@eamesss** : On Wednesdays, we wear pink. On Sundays, we go to the farmers’ market pic.twitter @anotherarthur @ariadneisamaze 

**@anotherarthur** : @eamess And hold hands. Don’t forget that part.

 **@eamesss** : @anotherarthur of course not. That’s the most important bit. 

**@ariadneisamaze** : @eamesss you’re welcome for the shirt. Dorks, the both of you. #ariadneapproves 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone who doesn't have Chapter 12 memorized like I do:  
>  _“You’re extremely talented, insanely hot, and have never left me stranded in the middle of nowhere. None of my exes managed all three of those things, so you’re a shoo-in for their vote,” says Eames._  
>   
>  Usual disclaimer: I made up these names and did not Google them after; any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

It started as a way to ease Arthur’s apprehension about meeting Eames’s friends for the first time. Later, it becomes a joke between them—“Darling, while I am sure you did your best to follow the recipe to the letter, I think we can safely say I am not with you for your advanced cooking skills.” “I’m going to come out with a cookbook, and there’s going to be none of this ‘seasoning to taste’ nonsense. Anyway, I’m still hot, talented, and have never left you stranded in the middle of nowhere.” “Oh, is that right? I see. Pass me the take-out menu?”—which in turn becomes picked up by their friends. 

_I don’t know_ , John messages Arthur, _if you’re safe in the middle-of-nowhere category. We really need to count your entire country as that, don’t we? Plus, you live in the cultural wasteland of LA._

Ariadne sends Arthur his updated standings in various lists—best dressed, 30 celebrities under 30 who are more attractive than Liam Hemsworth, and so on. _Just keeping you informed! Want to make sure you have the sources to back up your hotness claim. (Citations, by the way, are one of those things they fake-taught you how to do in high school but don’t really teach you until college.)_

They’re not the sorts of messages, of articles, Arthur would accept from anybody else (Eames excepted) without feeling uncomfortable, but they’re out there, these lists, and Arthur would rather they come to his attention framed by Ariadne’s commentary than any other way. 

When he casually references the boyfriend checklist in a PR meeting, however, Saito looks him in the eye and instructs, “Never repeat that phrase to anyone with a recording device,” and Arthur returns to the apartment after the meeting with one mission in mind. 

“I said the exes line in front of Saito today,” Arthur says to Eames that night over Skype. 

Eames is in New York for the week, auditioning dancers for one of the tours he’s helping to choreograph. 

“The hot, talented, stranding me line?” Eames says. 

“Yeah,” says Arthur. “And I realized that I have no idea what I’m talking about when I say that.” 

“You are hot, talented, and have a one-hundred percent success rate at the not-leaving-me-stranded thing, middle of nowhere or otherwise,” says Eames. 

Arthur rolls his eyes. “I mean, about the others.” 

“You really want to hear about my exes?” Eames’s whole face scrunches, each individual muscle screaming ‘skeptical.’ 

“I at least need the leaving-you-stranded story, if only so I know which premieres or shows or whatever I need to categorically avoid, out of solidarity,” says Arthur. 

Arthur knows that Eames’s exes exist, of course, and Arthur is under the impression that there was a bit of a gap between the last and himself, but other than that, Eames’s dating history is virtually unknown to him. Eames never says things like “my ex used to,” or “my ex and I used to,” or “one time when my ex and I were…” or anything. He wonders now if this behavior should be concerning. 

_Don’t panic_ , Arthur tells himself. _Communicate!_

But positive thinking can only do so much, and there’s a rapid succession of chimes on Eames’s end; Eames swears as he glances away from the screen. 

“I’ve got to run, sweetheart,” he says. “I’ll try to send an email tomorrow during a break or something about how it’s going. Send me a text when you get to the studio?” 

“Will do,” says Arthur, biting down his disappointment. 

He reminds himself that it’s only been a few days, that Eames will be back in L.A. soon, that the price of their respective, amazing jobs is going to be an increasing amount of time spent apart, that he’s never worried about his lack of knowledge regarding Eames’s exes before and he and Eames will probably laugh about this whole Saito thing _as soon as Eames is home, dammit._

“I love you,” says Eames. His attention is back on his screen, back on Arthur. 

“I love you, too,” says Arthur. 

They hang up, and because Arthur’s a sap and Eames is inexplicably fond of the Plain White T’s, Arthur opens Twitter.

**@anotherarthur** : 4000 kilometers seems pretty far / but they’ve got planes and trains and cars

**@eamesss** : @anotherarthur This one’s for you pic.twitter 

The retweets and replies instantly devolve into “not that I want them to be separated but if this is how they are when E is gone for 3 DAYS imagine this spring” and “why is the fact that @eamesss likes Hey There Delilah the least surprising thing ever” and “@eamesss’s hotel selfie game is strong sldkjflsdkjf I’m dead” and “write your own LDR song!!! Please & thankyou.”

He takes a screenshot of the last one and sends it privately to Eames: _challenge accepted._

Eames’s response is nothing more than several smiling emojis and a “goodnight xoxoxoxoxox ^infinity,” but it settles Arthur’s stomach, and he goes to bed smiling. 

  


They’re on a quick late-afternoon break next day when Arthur’s phone vibrates with a new email. 

The subject of the email, which is from Eames, reads _hot, talented, doesn’t leave me stranded_. The text of the email is a simple, “Darling, I considered making a powerpoint, but those bloody files are so large and the Internet here is so terrible. All my love. —Eames,” so Arthur infers that the point of the email is really the attached Word document. 

The file is called “theexes,” and Arthur resolves not to open it until he’s home. If there could be anything more distracting than thinking about whatever Eames has to say about his exes in the abstract, it would surely be taking the time to read the document and then obsessing over the actualities the rest of the day. 

  


Thirty seconds after entering his apartment that night, Arthur opens the attachment. He's not really sure what to expect, but before he's finished the first page he's grinning. Whatever Eames may say about Arthur, Arthur knows the truth: _Eames_ is the best.

**theexes.doc**

**[Page 1]**

Darling —

I think the best format for this would actually be flashcards, but, alas, 4000km and try as they might, no matter how much you pay for expedited shipping your postal service is not as fast as the interwebs, so have some instructions instead. I know you’re a fan of those. 

Instructions: 

THE EXES are listed in this document in reverse chronological order. To read first to last… well, scroll all the way down to start. To read based on DURATION (longest to shortest), read in the following order: 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5, 7, 8. (Is this how your brain works all the time? I’m already exhausted, but I thought you might enjoy the attempt.) Rupert also wanted me to rank them on seriousness-of-the-relationship but honestly that’s more effort than I’m willing to expend on people I never think about and the list would just end up being a tie for bottom because they are all irredeemably Not You. (Also I would have sent you this last night except THE LADS wanted to make suggestions/corrections/offer snarky commentary in your favour, blame them for the lateness of this email and also the capitalization.) 

I’m not that much of a list person but you are, so here goes. (Again: how are you like this all the time, darling?? I am in awe. I am going to treat that brain of yours very nicely when I get home. Also other parts of you. All parts, really.) 

For the record: I don’t care about the talent or hotness (although they are very nice bonuses). You would never leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere and despite what John thinks and what I will tell you when I get home, LA doesn’t count as that. 

Love love love love love,

Eames 

**[Page 2]**

EX ID NUMBER: 1 

Name: Harold Austin

Length of relationship: 10 months

My age at the time: 19-20

Hotness: 5/10

Talent: 8/10 

Harold is not the one who left me stranded in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, Harold was a bit of an arse and would have if he thought it would have benefited his career. Alasdair wants me to make you a fancy appendix with all the movies/plays/editorial spreads/etc. you’ll need to avoid but the idea is giving me a rash so let’s just say that when you come visit me this spring we will not be going to see him in the How to Succeed West End revival. Also he was such a self-centered bore I’m not really sure how we lasted 10 months except breaking up seemed like a lot of work and I think he liked having someone who had to go to parties with him. (Really, he was fine. Just—fine. It was nice and I was over him before we finished the break-up conversation.) THE LADS tried to hide their smugness when it ended but not very hard. I should write to the OBE people and make sure this failure counts against them in the nomination process. 

**[Page 3]**

EX ID NUMBER: 2

Name: ~~Dickface McGee~~ [not his real name. His real name is Colin McGuire, but John refuses to say his name and somehow converted all THE LADS.]

Length of relationship: 4 months

My age at the time: 19

Hotness: 8/10

Talent: 8/10

Colin is the one who left me stranded in the middle of nowhere, by which I mean the British countryside, the part that’s ages away from any actual city and to get to which you need a train and then a bus and then a strong pair of legs and sturdy hiking boots, except we drove the train+bus section, and by that I mean he drove and then we got in a fight and in the middle of the fight he got a call about a gig so he left and it should be mentioned here that my wallet and mobile charger were still in the car. I am aware that some of your more naïve English literature students have weird fetishes about our countryside but while it is reasonably pretty from the inside of somewhere, when you’re not inside in the winter it’s mostly cold/rain/cow shit. Okay now that I’m writing this down Harold starts to make more sense. [I’m also now realising I should have put this in a spreadsheet?? I’m sorry. Let’s just go with the idea that Colin is not worthy of being on any spreadsheet. Only nasty-looking Word document lists for him.] He’s in that new HBO show that has a bajillion-dollar budget, let’s boycott. 

**[Page 4]**

EX ID NUMBER: 3

Name: George Sloan

Length of relationship: 5 months

My age at the time: 18

Hotness: 7/10

Talent: 4/10

Dear Georgie. We met at an audition, it was fun, he was fun, it wasn’t going anywhere, he wasn’t going anywhere. Not that that matters much, but he didn’t seem to care about putting all that much effort into building his career, so he didn’t get why I would, so for a little while I didn’t, THE LADS put an end to that, hello Midsummer role, and then I put an end to dear Georgie and me, I have the best friends. [Also the best boyfriend. Why am I writing about my exes when I could be writing about you. Heyyy you don’t have crap exes like I do, but you could steal mine and go Taylor Swift on them. If you needed to write break-up songs. I don’t know how albums are put together but like, if you have some chart or algorithm—wait, you totally have a spreadsheet—of x number of happy love songs and y number of sad pining songs and z number of angry break-up songs… Never mind Adele clearly doesn’t follow that so maybe it’s not a thing. Anyway. I’m just saying.]

**[Page 5]**

EX ID NUMBER: 4

Name: Sebastian Williamson

Length of relationship: 7 months

My age at the time: 17-18

Hotness: 8/10

Talent: 7/10

Seb. Sebby. Stan. Bastian. Bastard. You know what happens when you put two bright lonely rich mostly unsupervised kids together and it’s like fireworks and and then suddenly there’s a fucking wildfire on your hands? Yeah. 

**[Page 6]**

EX ID NUMBER: 5

Name: Paul Wilkes

Length of relationship: 2 months

My age at the time: 16

Hotness: 7/10

Talent: 3/10

It was a co-star thing. [For the record, WE are not just a co-star thing. We are a grocery store kind of thing. And by thing I mean you’re my boyfriend and I love you and I love that you work so hard to protect our relationship from industry bullshit but that you also sometimes write me sappy tweets.] We can’t go see him in anything because he’s not acting anymore, surprise surprise, nepotism from people who aren't particularly influential themselves only gets you so far when you really have nothing going for you. 

**[Page 7]**

EX ID NUMBER: 6

Name: Thomas Burns

Length of relationship: 2 months

My age at the time: 15 

Hotness: 5/10 [honestly we were 15, I feel weird classifying his attractiveness at that age now, but he’s a model so somebody thinks puberty worked out for him]

Talent: 7/10

He did GQ in November. I haven’t looked at the spread. He has a contract with a watch place or a cologne. Probably both. Don’t buy the cologne. 

**[Page 8]**

EX ID NUMBER: 7

Name: Jean Ellis 

Length of relationship: 1 month

My age at the time: 15

Hotness: I thought he was cute back then

Talent: 8/10

He’s a principle with the Paris Opera Ballet now. Acceptable to see, if you want to do a weekend in Paris. [I am dying to get you in Paris, love—maybe a quick vacation after I finish filming?]

**[Page 9]**

EX ID NUMBER: 8

Name: Trevor Adams

Length of relationship: 2 weeks

My age at the time: 13

Hotness: …

Talent: 3/10

Trevor is the kind of person who did one BBC film almost by accident and then his parents freaked because they were normal, and Trevor wasn’t all that into acting anyway, so now he’s some kind of tax attorney (thank you Facebook and non-famous people with open profiles). I kid you not. I once dated a tax attorney. ‘Dated,’ to be honest, might be a little bit of a stretch—we never kissed, we held hands about twice, but it counted at the time so I suppose I’ll count it now. 

CONGRATULATIONS. WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE FIRST BOYFRIEND. I will refrain from using Word’s preset pictures for your sake but just _imagine_ that I have inserted their random selection of cartoon-y ClipArt balloons and party hats and confetti. You’re the best.

**[Page 10]**

P.S.

I love you.

Home soon. 

xoxo,

Eames


	3. Goodnight Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transcript excerpts from selected YouTube videos, March to June 2018.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t planning on writing this chapter, and I hope nobody who knows anything about film or YouTube is reading this. (If you do… apologies.) 
> 
> The third and final transcript excerpt centers on the past death of a parent, so if that’s not something you’re comfortable reading right now, I encourage you to only read the first two, or to skip this chapter.

Video: _Backstage (and onstage)_  
Account: Arthur Cohen Official  
Uploaded on: March 25, 2018  
Transcript:  
  
[INTERIOR: A concert venue. ARTHUR holds the camera in one hand, pointed toward himself as he stands onstage.]  
  
ARTHUR: So today I thought I’d give you all a bit of a backstage tour. And I know you’re probably thinking, but wait! That’s not backstage! And you’d be right, of course, and I promise this video will include lots of shots—  
  
[Smash cut: INTERIOR: A dressing room with two clothing racks, one of which holds one of ARTHUR’s trademark concert suits.]  
  
[Smash cut: INTERIOR: An empty hallway.]  
  
[Smash cut: INTERIOR: YUSUF talking into a headset.]  
  
[Cut to: INTERIOR: Onstage.]  
  
ARTHUR: — of dressing rooms and hallways and busy crewmembers who don’t have time to talk to singers, but I thought you all might also appreciate this view, to start. I know I do. Every time.  
  
[Camera pans slowly around empty arena.]  
  
ARTHUR: So yeah, sound check is in a little bit, and we’ll test everything out and make sure you guys are going to be able to hear me tonight (which is really last night or the night before last, probably, depending on when I get a chance to edit and upload this and when you watch this). Pretty wild, right? And that’s—you make that happen, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. All right, heading backstage now… 

  


Video: _Deliberately Unscheduled_  
Account: Arthur Cohen Official  
Uploaded on: April 30, 2018  
Transcript:  
  
[Establishing shot: A highway and surrounding countryside, as filmed through the window of a moving vehicle.]  
  
ARTHUR V.O.: Hope you’re all enjoying the view from the tour bus. Kind of a business-slash-reflective video to start this time. Plus an introduction to some more of the crew, at the end. You won’t meet everyone—some people are camera-shy—but I think I would have liked someone pulling back the curtain a bit on tour life, before everything.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR V.O. cont.: You may have noticed that these aren’t coming out with any sort of regularity, on any sort of schedule, just that I’m making more videos than I was when I was recording _Within a Dream_ and then that first tour. For a while I was avoiding this channel a bit, because I needed to… jealously guard, just, the little bit of my life, or time, that wasn’t already being recorded by somebody else. I’ve gotten better at figuring out my boundaries and limits now. I know what I want public, and what I don’t, and how to control that better, and I also know that I like having the option to talk to you all unfiltered, more than one hundred and forty characters at a time.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR V.O. cont.: I am really happy I’ve gotten back into making videos. It’s something… my friends encouraged me to do, also just so I have a kind of hobby and creative outlet and get to... mess around and connect with you all in a different format.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR V.O. cont.: I know that sounds really strange, because when I first started this channel, singing and songwriting was my hobby and creative outlet, and even though it’s still obviously creative… well, it’s my job, and that changes things sometimes, and it’s not good for me when that’s all I do. So, back to the basics sometimes. But to keep this from feeling like part of my job, and another obligation, I’m not going to make myself be on a schedule. I hope that’s all right with you. Also hope it’s okay that these aren’t very nicely edited or anything—videos aren’t really my medium, and I’m sure most of you guys have nicer, um, everything about your videos. I’m kind of using these videos as a reminder that however polished I make sure my songs are, my entire life doesn’t have to be that way... 

  


Video: _Half-Remembered_  
Account: Arthur Cohen Official  
Uploaded on: June 17, 2018  
Transcript:  
  
[Establishing shot: A mostly-empty park, early morning. The camera bobs slightly as ARTHUR walks along a perimeter path.]  
  
ARTHUR: Back in the fall, right after _Projection_ first came out, I did a series of mini-videos with a couple of different publications about most of the songs on the album. I’ll put some links in the description, if you missed them. They were a lot of fun to do, because I enjoy talking about my process and giving you guys kind of a peek into certain songs, even though I know they’ll come to mean all sorts of different things to you, which is what songs are supposed to do. One of the songs I didn’t talk about, and have never talked about, is “Half-Remembered,” which is about my dad, and losing my dad, when I was little.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: As my American followers might know, today is Father’s Day there, so. I’m in Germany on tour right now, but I’m going to talk about the song for a minute. “Half-Remembered” is… that song I was never going to write, partially because it was—too much—but a lot because I thought if I wrote it, if I let myself write it, I would have to write it perfectly, and anything less than perfect would be—a kind of betrayal.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: I thought about writing that song for years before I actually did, and it was just always in the back of my mind when I was sitting down to write, you know, both for a while before I was on _The Voice_ and also when I was writing _Within a Dream_ and first starting to write for _Projection_ , and this time, I actually let myself write it. And there was something very liberating and cathartic about that, in the end. You’ve noticed that I usually have one or two co-writers on my songs, but this one is all mine. That’s… that’s the only way I could write it. Its imperfections are all mine.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: So I wrote the song. I played it for my boyfriend first, as I was working on it. It’s not that tricky of a song, technically speaking. It’s all pretty simple, but it was—yeah, the hardest song to write. Not that the words or the melody themselves were that hard to come up with? But.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: And then I played it for my mom, and I—I couldn’t get through the song. I held it together until the end of the first verse, and then I had to stop, and the song is four minutes long and it probably took fifteen for me to actually get through it in a way that was coherent enough for her to… really hear it, in a way that makes sense and is impactful and everything.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: That’s kind of all I’m going to say about that moment, because that’s a memory that’s just for the two of us. But you do have my mom to thank for this song being on the album. For the longest time—months and months, while we were putting the album together—it wasn’t going to be on it. It was a song for me, and my mom, and that was it. I needed to write the song; I didn’t feel like I had to share it. It felt too close to me.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: But eventually—so the thing is, with losing my dad when I was so young, it’s something I kind of had to continually re-process as I got older. Like, my dad wasn’t going to be there at my taekwondo tournaments, or my high school graduation. He never got to hear the first song I wrote. He wasn’t sitting in the living room with us when I came out to my mom. And now—the last few years—anyway.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: Because that’s something I was continually coming to terms with… you know how there are some songs you associate with certain times or things, like the spring of 2007, or your crush in ninth grade, or just like, quiet rainy nights? And how there are some songs that come to you at exactly the right time, exactly when you need them? I’ve had that happen a couple of times, with songs about parents, or grief, or honestly other things, just things that I associate with my dad, or with me and my mom talking about my dad. It’s—I don’t really have my own memories of the kinds of music my dad liked, but my mom has told me, and I went through a period where I listened to a lot of those songs, and sometimes I still do—but most of these songs are just… songs I stumbled across, and they spoke to me, about him, even though he obviously never got a chance to hear any of them.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: So my mom and I were talking about that, and this song, “Half-Remembered,” and I thought if I had the opportunity to have “Half-Remembered” be… be the song that helped somebody else through that, through whatever moment they needed that, that would be… that would be special. And it wouldn’t cheapen the song, or the experience of writing it, or all the other memories of my dad that I don’t share with everyone else. But I also thought, in a way, sharing this song… would be a way for me to share this whole experience with him. A way for him to be a part of it.  
  
[Cut to: INTERIOR: A hotel room. ARTHUR is sitting at a keyboard. He does not look into the camera while speaking.]  
  
ARTHUR: I’m hesitant to use the word “never,” because I don’t know how I’ll feel about it in a year, or three, but at the moment at least, I can’t imagine performing this song in public. It’s not a concert song, for me.  
  
[Jump cut]  
  
ARTHUR: I know I’m not going to be able to get through the whole song now, so I’m just going to do the bridge and final chorus. So. This one’s for you.


	4. Chapter 4

Out Magazine

Arthur & Eames: Taking On the World (Together and Apart)

BY NAOMI D’ARROS

TUES, 2019-10-14 09:59

Photography by MATEO FLORES. Styling by DAVID BARAKAT.

“I’m a little nervous for me. I’m excited for him,” Arthur Cohen admits, shooting a glance at the man beside him. 

The man in question, of course, is Eames: actor, model, dancer, choreographer, and, for the last three and a half years, Cohen’s boyfriend. 

The mixed emotions stem from the fact that, in a few short months, Cohen will embark on his third tour, in support of his about-to-be-released album _Reminders_ —but for the first time, without his boyfriend at his side. 

The couple infamously met when Eames was a backup dancer on Cohen’s first solo tour, in support of his debut album, _Within a Dream_ , which was released following Cohen’s _The Voice_ win when he was just eighteen. 

In the time since, the power couple has been conquering the entertainment industry from Los Angeles to London. 

Eames, who is British, spent his teens and early twenties leaping from acting to modeling to dancing and back again—much to the frustration of both casting directors and teachers. Nevertheless, it’s that same versatility that has facilitated his introduction to North America: In 2016, his first full year in the U.S., he danced on Cohen’s tour, smoldered in a variety of modeling shoots on days off, and appeared in three episodes of _How to Get Away With Murder,_ which earned him an Emmy for Oustanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. In 2017, he starred in a critically-acclaimed, (partially) gender-swapped BBC adaptation of _Twelfth Night_ and cut his teeth on choreographing, all while Cohen recorded his sophomore album. 

Cohen’s second album, _Projection_ , debuted at No. 1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., and power single “Not Alone” propelled him to international fame and a sold-out sophomore tour across North America and Europe, for which Eames returned as a dancer and co-choreographer. 

“Sometimes Eames’s fans would come to the shows,” Cohen recalls with a laugh. “They’d offer to go with a friend or cousin or whoever they knew was a fan of mine, and they’d both get backstage passes, and whoever was there for Eames be like, ‘hey, so, is Eames going to be around tonight? Because you’re good, but _Twelfth Night_ didn’t exactly have a signing at ComicCon I could go to.’” 

There’s an almost hypnotizing camaraderie between the two, full of the playful banter and easy touches that captured many fans’ interest before the couple went public with their relationship. In fact, this interview is the first joint print interview they’ve conducted since they went public with their relationship via an _Out_ article (and a surprise concert kiss) almost exactly three years ago. 

“Thank you for having us back,” Eames says gravely. “Considering that last time, we broke our own embargo.” The statement is accompanied by a wink at Cohen, who just smiles. 

It doesn’t take much pressing, however, for Cohen to expand on the subject. “It’s always been important to me that we can separate our work lives from our personal lives, and part of that involves not doing a lot of joint interviews. There are red carpets and that sort of thing, of course, and that’s different, but we’re not the sort of couple—we don’t want to be the sort of couple—that can’t do an interview without the other.”

“The two of us, we’ll talk about the song Arthur is writing, or the part I’m preparing for,” Eames adds, “but at the end of the day, it’s Arthur’s album and my role, and when we’re talking about those things with the press, promoting new things in our careers, we want the focus to be on the projects—which always have dozens and dozens of other people working on them, too, mind—and not on our relationship.” The answer is firm, given in a more serious tone than many might expect from Eames, and as if sensing this, he jokes, “If you want to know about our relationship, check Twitter. I can coax Arthur into a joint selfie once a month or so.” 

“We have selfie night instead of date night,” Cohen deadpans. 

Although Cohen and Eames have rightfully pointed out their wariness of being defined by their relationship—including the potential danger to their individual careers—the fact is that their work overlapped for months at a time. One might even say that, for the better part of Cohen’s _Within a Dream_ and _Projection_ tours, almost every night was date night for the couple. 

All that is about to change. 

When Cohen begins his _Reminders_ tour early next year, Eames won’t be accompanying him as a dancer; instead, he’ll be spending much of the late winter and spring filming the second season of _Netflix_ hit _Radical Notions_ , the first season of which was filmed while Cohen was deep into album production for _Reminders_.

“It’s what we agreed, after the first tour,” Cohen says. “It was an incredible privilege to have Eames dance again for me, and it obviously meant we were able to spend a lot of time together, which I’m very grateful for, but having Eames try to schedule filming around tour, or only taking on theater roles for limited runs—it just wasn’t feasible.” 

Eames is quick to point out that he’ll still attend a number of Cohen’s concerts, albeit simply in his role as Cohen’s boyfriend going forward. “Now I’ll get to laze backstage or in the family-and-friends section while Arthur and the dancers work.”

It’s this increasing and impending separation that is the subject of Cohen’s first single from _Reminders_ , “Security,” a high-energy tune that still manages to be full of the yearning that music lovers might expect from Adele—but because it’s Cohen, it comes with a twist happy ending that fans who know of Eames might not find so surprising after all. 

***

**@andpeggy** : It’s weird. Or sad. Or something. That they had to do a joint interview to talk about the fact that they don’t do joint interviews??

**@may444** : @andpeggy right the whole thing is so strange? Like they needed a whole interview to say CALM THE FUCK DOWN FANDOM WE’RE NOT BREAKING UP

**@slippersphx** : I’m not even going to question the whys of this article, the pictures are a GIFT FROM GOD

**@kittiesthree** : That date night comment is so?? Like I’m sure it was great that they got to work together, but it was WORK

**@kittiesthree** : jfc Arthur is like the most professional pop star ever, it’s not like he & E were snuggling over wine on stage (after, maybe)

**@kittiesthree** : pro tip it’s not date night if thousands of people are watching

**@kittiesthree** : pro tip their relationship = goals obviously but at a concert I’m there for the singing (& dancing), not the couple as such???

**@lydiab** : ahem soo @eamesss guest appearance at some of @anotherarthur’s shows?? I’m gonna miss you two dancing together!! 

**@ericas** : Is it just me or is it weird that Arthur is still going to have backup dancers even w/o Eames? If I were E, I’d be super jealous. 

**@scottt97** : @ericas are you shitting me. How is this any different than E kissing his co-stars in 12th or Radical Notions? Except no kissing in concerts

**@jax_ick** : @scott97 @ericas A. wouldn’t be the first popstar to switch the gender of his dancers after getting a serious partner, it’s like courtesy 

**@londonnotparis** : Petition to delete the entire Twitter fandom. (I’ll start.) 

**@aepositive** : Can we just take a moment to be SO PROUD of these boys?? @outmagazine mentioned *both* of Eames’s big gay roles <3 #RadicalNotions

**@aepositive:** Also, still a better article than the one that was all “in addition to his full résumé, E has also managed to squeeze in being A’s bf”

**@aepositive** : Not that I’m still bitter b/c if I angsted over every shitty article/headline about these two I’d never get anything else done

**@aepositive** : They make spending time together a priority, but also have independent careers. Like real adults! Wow! What a novelty!

**@aepositive** : ANYWAY REMINDERS COMES OUT SOOOOOO SOON! PRE-ORDER ON ITUNES!!! #RemindersAlbum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversation I had with myself before writing this chapter: So my choices are _Out_ or _Attitude_ , and I’ve only ever read one article from each, but _Out_ ’s was actually good and _Attitude_ ’s was super shitty, so I have to write an _Out_ one out of solidarity. Sample size what sample size.  
>  Conversation I had with myself while writing this chapter: Well, this is hard. Narrative-style joint interviews are... really difficult. If I had gone with _Attitude_ , I could have done a super easy Q&A format, no backstory or commentary required. Wow, it’s almost like an article is easier to write when it’s entirely composed of PR-coached answers.


	5. 5+1 (+1) [+1]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 times Eames posted a shirtless selfie on Twitter and... three times something else happened instead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to amysnoteadyet, kedgeree, kenopsia, isidore13, and bookshop for utterly failing to help me choose one +1—and also for providing lots of sprinting motivation (although I did have to cut down our +5 to +3). 
> 
> Turns out there are a lot of songs from pop/crossover artists titled “Home.” The first half of Arthur’s tweet comes from Michael Bublé’s. “Life Is Better With You” (Michael Franti & Spearhead) has not previously been a go-to Arthur/Eames song for me, but when I found myself typing out the lyrics, I went with it (the other song of theirs referenced in this chapter is “Say Hey (I Love You)”). 
> 
> If you’re looking at the chapter count, you’ll notice this is now complete. The deal I made with myself was that I’d write however much I could of this ‘verse over the summer, and stop wherever I was when it was time to move. (... Probably. Like JKR, I reserve the right to return. However, I promise that, unlike JKR, any follow-up will be unequivocally queer.)

I.

Arthur is in a meeting when he feels his phone vibrate inside his pocket. 

It’s not unusual—neither the meeting, given that _Reminders_ is coming out in five months, nor the phone going off, given that that Arthur had to fly out to New York for this particular string of meetings, and Eames is shooting _Radical Notions_ back in L.A., and Ariadne is living her ex-pat architect life in Paris.

Still, it’s a reminder that all the people he loves are elsewhere, and he is New York, surrounded by a lot of people who are very enthusiastic about working on his album and zero people who are going to give him a hug at the end of the day. Which is fine, because it’s business, and he likes being this involved, he wouldn’t have it any other way, but he likes the business _best_ when both he and Eames are in L.A. (or London), or when both he and Ariadne are in New York (or Paris). When there’s something waiting for him at the end of the day, other than contracts and meeting notes and schedules and to-do lists and… 

He likes all those things. 

But he likes Eames best. 

He ignores his phone until the meeting is over, and he’s finished saying his parting pleasantries to everyone involved, and is safely ensconced in a taxi on the way back to his hotel. 

Two more days. 

Arthur likes New York, he really does. He likes the noise and the anonymity. He likes going to Broadway shows with Eames, and tiny galleries with Ariadne, and the occasional charity gala with his mom, and he’s been to New York Fashion Week twice now. There’s so much energy to be swept up in—and that can be a dangerous feeling, a dangerous current, if you’re there on your own and prone to loneliness and existential crises. 

It was a long meeting, and there are innumerable notifications on his phone: two texts from Eames and one from his mother; a Snapchat from Ariadne; a dozen (... or two) emails about the album. 

The most recent one, however—the one that was the culprit of that final vibration against his thigh—is a Twitter notification from Eames. Arthur opens it. 

**@eamesss** : Nothing like watching the #Arsenal game after a long day of filming! #RadicalNotions pic.twitter 

The picture is a selfie, because of _course_ it’s a selfie, Eames is always posting selfies. In fact, Eames was once asked in an interview how he engaged with his ridiculously high number of followers—how he lured them in and kept them interested, something—and replied, “My abs seem to have the most voracious supporters. Although some people seem to prefer my pecs, each to their own, you know. Without outsider input, I would have assumed it was my nipples. Which, when I cross-post to Instagram, are not censored, by the way.” 

Arthur is of the opinion that Eames does not understand selfies can, in fact, be taken while wearing a full set of clothes, but the one time he’d wryly pointed that out on Twitter, the result had… not been pretty. 

In tonight’s picture, Eames has one Arsenal sock draped around his neck, artfully calling to attention his very bare chest, and another pulled like a glove (or, knowing Eames, a sock puppet) over the hand not taking the picture. 

To the uninitiated, Eames’s socks are oddly mismatched, as he shows off one red Arsenal sock and one yellow Arsenal sock, but Arthur knows better: the colors are home and away. 

Arthur feels a swoop of _fond_ rush through him, and he’s about to close Twitter and call Eames before he reminds himself that he should really wait until he’s actually entered his hotel room, lest Eames accuse him of starting something he can’t finish. (In this instant, Arthur would be content with an “I love you,” but as soon as he stops grinning over the socks, his eyes will linger over Eames’s chest, and they’ve become rather good at phone sex over the last few years, in Arthur’s opinion.) 

He keeps Twitter open. 

**@anotherarthur** : @eamesss another summer day / has come and gone away — New York has nothing on you in LA 

**@ariadneisamaze** : @eamesss Dobby would be so proud #mismatchedsocks #yousap

**@oliveriswood** : @ariadneisamaze @eamesss #freeEames #Eamesisafreeelf

**@otherotherharry** : @oliveriswood No. Stop. 

**@cathyboo** : Come for the shirtless selfies, stay for the #relationshipgoals

**@imagearthur** : @cathyboo I’m pretty sure it’s come for the #goals, stay for the shirtless selfies 

**@popfootie** : @cathyboo @imagearthur Come for the #Arsenal commentary, stay for the shirtless selfies

**@eamestractor** : @cathyboo @imagearthur @popfootie Come for the #TwelfthNight, stay for the #goals 

**@eamesssinfinite** : Guys just stop, it’s for ALL THE THINGS. 

  


Arthur is in the hotel elevator when his phone rings. Eames’s picture (a rare non-shirtless selfie he’d taken with Arthur’s phone back in December, while they were in England for Christmas) appears onscreen. 

“Hey,” says Arthur, answering it at once, and then, because he’s alone in the elevator and has been itching to say it all day, “I love you.” 

“Will there ever be a day in which we do not have conversations by way of lyrics?” Eames asks, and Arthur thinks it’s telling that he’s not actually sure whether Eames is referring to their Twitter exchange or if he assumed Arthur was trying to make a Michael Franti song title reference just now. 

The elevator doors open and Arthur steps out, heading for his room. 

“Maybe,” says Arthur. “But today is not that day.” 

“I love you, too,” says Eames. 

  


II. 

Arthur stands at the very edge of the catwalk, looking out at his first crowd in Japan, about to introduce the second to last song before the encore. 

“You guys have been a fantastic audience tonight,” he says. “And thanks for your support since I started—I wouldn’t have been able to come to Asia if you hadn’t kept asking me!” He paces, just a little, pausing now and then to point and wave at people holding posters. He’s careful not to stray too far from his start location for the choreography. “This next song is ‘Security,’ which is about being in a long-distance relationship. Anybody here done that? It’s hard, right? So I just want to do a shout-out to anybody who was livestreaming this concert—my boyfriend thanks you.” Screams and laughter rise to meet him from the crowd. “All right, let’s do this!” 

Arthur’s PA hands him his phone as soon as he makes it offstage. 

**@eamesss** : Got up early to watch my man #sleepyselfie pic.twitter

In the picture, Eames is lying on his side on their couch, head propped up by the non-selfie arm. Half his hair is sticking up at all angles, while the other half lays flat against his head. 

Arthur’s eyes linger over the stubble on Eames’s jaw before following the curve of his neck down to his chest and—and the picture cuts off just above Eames’s hipbones. 

_Tease_ , Arthur thinks helplessly, hopelessly. 

Eames’s body takes up most of the frame, and he feels _so close_ , Eames’s skin all sleepy-soft... And five thousand miles away. 

  


III. 

**@eamesss:** Thanks for lending me your puppy @johnoverhere #PUPPY pic.twitter

**@eamesss** : How to have a puppy when you move around for plays/filming & your partner spends half the year on the road?? Please advise #PUPPY

**@eamesinevitable** : So anyway now I’m jealous of a puppy because said puppy got to snuggle with a half-naked @eamesss, puppy can we trade places please

**@briclemens** : @eamesinevitable you know who else I bet wants to trade places with the puppy? @anotherarthur

**@missyeames** : @eamesss I WILL DOG SIT!!!! (youcanpaymeinshirtlesspics) #giveEamesapuppy

**@fstroud** : E’s shirtless puppy selfie > anything GQ or Vogue ever came out with 

**@jeanne56** : that puppy probably got to lick Eames’s stomach. Discuss. 

**@pearlotto** : Eames. Looks. So. Good. #deathbypuppy 

**@marypips** : I don’t know if I could handle an A/E puppy??? Imagine getting these kinds of selfies all the time??? #toocute #PUPPY

**@anotherarthur** : @eamesss Half of every other year. 

**@eamessss** : @anotherarthur So… puppy?

**@ariadneisamaze** : @eamesss @anotherarthur I’d be a good auntie, I’ll petsit. #PUPPY

  


IV. 

Arthur has a two-week break from tour between the European and American legs; Eames has just finished filming the second season of _Radical Notions_. Somehow, the logical conclusion is to head to the South of France for several days. 

“When I start doing film, I’ll take you to Cannes,” Eames promised back in the spring, when they were deciding what to do during the break; Arthur was too elated by the casual ‘when’ to remind Eames that, technically, Arthur had already been to Cannes—just not for the film festival. 

For now, though, they’re lounging on a (private) beach, and Arthur has sand in all sorts of uncomfortable places, and the sun is very bright and Eames, stretched out alongside him, is very warm—warm and _beside him_ and touchable. 

Eames’s neck and chest may carry a few faint marks of that touchability. 

Catching Arthur’s eye, Eames brings a lazy hand to his chest, now ghosting over, now pressing against the marks Arthur left. 

“Good thing it’s not still first tour, isn’t it?” he smirks. 

“Yes,” says Arthur. 

  


**@eamesss** :Beach day! pic.twitter 

**@redhat** : Eames is getting tan again sljdfklsfj 

**@arthursboo** : @eamesss IS THAT A HICKEY 

**@sylvanteco** :omg that’s definitely a hickey get it @anotherarthur

**@mara99** : Our boys are on vacation together!! They deserve it!!

**@les_ter** : I always thought Eames would be the one to leave marks?

**@soph333** : @les_ter they can trade off?? Try new things?? Why do we care about how they engage in sexytimes??

**@carolinarey** : IMAGINE HOW HAPPY THEY MUST BE TO BE TOGETHER ON HOLIDAY #AEREUNITED

  


“Twitter thinks that you’re the one who likes to leave marks,” Arthur murmurs to Eames late that night, after they’ve washed off the sand but before they’ve put on clothing. 

“And Twitter always knows best,” says Eames, wrapping an arm around Arthur’s waist.

“Mustn’t disappoint Twitter,” Arthur agrees. 

Even if they’re the only ones who will know it. 

  


V. 

“I can take a selfie backstage, right, no trade secrets?” Eames asks, a few minutes before Arthur has to head onstage. 

Eames has just finished three months on Broadway, and Arthur would feel bad that Eames went straight from New York to tour except for the fact that Eames heading straight to tour means that Eames is _with him on tour_. 

However much Arthur missed Eames, or thought he missed Eames, he didn’t realize exactly how much he ached for him until Eames was once again teasing him in his dressing room before the show, and chatting with fans as they waited for autographs after, and falling asleep with him on the bus and in ever-changing hotel rooms. 

Arthur can do tour without Eames; he knows this, and the last several months have proved it. But he likes it better with Eames. (He really needs to ask someone to talk to Michael Franti about letting him do a cover at a show one of these nights, now that Eames is here.)

“No trade secrets,” Arthur confirms. “Go wild.” 

A passing stagehand makes a terrified noise, and Eames winks. 

“Just put a shirt on if you decide to come out to watch,” Arthur advises. “We don’t want to start a stampede.”

“Aww, babe,” Eames pouts, “you’re not enjoying the view?” 

Arthur rolls his eyes but makes a show of looking Eames up and down, before crowding him against the wall, hands on Eames’s bare hips. 

“That is definitely not the issue,” Arthur says. 

“Arthur?” calls Rebecca, his tour manager. 

“Coming,” says Arthur, stepping back.

“Later,” Eames promises. 

Arthur huffs, grinning despite himself. 

“Break a leg, darling,” says Eames. 

“No stampedes,” Arthur warns, and ducks away. 

He’s got a concert to play. 

  


**@eamesss** : Flashbacks to Merry Chase on first tour! #backstageselfie pic.twitter

**@ariadneisamaze** : @eamesss First tour feels!! See you soon for the final show :)

**@sssmyman** : aaahh I’d almost forgotten that was the shirtless song!! Off to find some old concert footage :) 

**@latenever** : @sssmyman You must be new. That was the Minneapolis kiss song. 

**@borgialover** : E backstage at A’s show referencing Merry Chase the feels I’m crying

**@sarahhh** : idk how Arthur could get himself on stage tonight Eames looks fiiiiiine damn boy

**@lilacrain** : I’m so happy Eames was able to join him for the last part of tour, they must be thrilled they can spend more time together <3 

**@jessicasgirl** : Gaaahhh now I’m thinking about the kiss reveal again and just what if that’s how Arthur asks Eames to marry him??

**@jessicasgirl** : Like ends with “Marry You” at a concert and gets Ariadne to push Eames onstage I WOULD DIE 

**@jessicasgirl** : OR wedding/engagement announcement on twitter like “I think I wanna marry you @e thanks for saying yes” 

**@dol_14** : @jessicasgirl First of all, you’re talking about real people’s lives. This is not a Glee episode. (#hevans4ever)

**@dol_14** : @jessicasgirl Second. Arthur is not Kanye. If he proposes, it’s going to be private—maybe family/friends, but NOT FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT.

**@philadams** : @dol_14 Chill. It’s a cute headcanon/fantasy, it’s not hurting anybody. 

**@philadams** : @dol_14 Like I would love to know how the proposal goes down, but I accept I might never know. That’s cool. 

**@aedream** : @jessicasgirl Also that song makes the relationship/marriage sound like a fling, a whim? There’s NOTHING WHIMSICAL ABOUT A/E

**@aefalling** : @aedream Are you kidding me? Eames is at least 99% whim, which means A/E is at least 49.5% whim

**@greenlite** : @aefalling @aedream Eames goofs around a lot in between stuff, but he’s actually serious when he’s working? Like you can’t be a serious actor if you’re ALL whim

**@greenlite** : @aefalling @aedream Honestly Eames is 33% whim max

**@anotheramy** : @greenlite I think @aefalling is closer, Eames is waaay more like 75% whim

**@anotheramy** : @greenlite @aefalling if you took a blood sample/DNA test it would come back like MOSTLY WHIM 

**@arthursother** : @anotheramy @greenlite @aefalling @aedream I can’t believe we’re debating Eames’s PERCENTAGE OF WHIM

**@4setscorsets** : @arthursother @aedream It started out as a discussion of whimsy in the RELATIONSHIP not as individuals 

**@lizzy97** : @4setscorsets relationships are composed of individuals… 

**@adultingfan** : I think the point that @aedream is trying to make is that they’ve been together for 4.5 years now, they’re solid. 

**@adultingfan** : And remember Glasto 2016, TWO MONTHS IN and before we had confirmation, when Arthur gave that whole speech about marriage equality?

**@adultingfan** : Yeah, that was not a speech given by somebody uninterested in marriage. 

**@adultingfan** : They’re going to get married. Are we going to find out about it? Yeah, b/c they’re proud af of each other. 

**@adultingfan** : But we’re not going to see the proposal. 

**@lisaevans** : @adultingfan Have you read @kellyley’s stuff on tumblr (same username)? She thinks they’re already engaged. 

**@librarybabesss** : ANYWAY can we talk about Arthur saying “husband” on stage like that would be a thing if they got married

**@cyanmoon** : Eames thanking “my husband” in a Tony speech CAN YOU IMAGINE #aewedding

**@diannasberries** : banging my head against the wall here. Can we please not trend #aewedding. Oh my god guys. Stop. THEY’RE NOT ENGAGED. 

**@kellyley** : @diannasberries That’s what you think. 

  


+1 

They have a house in L.A. now—well, the county, not the city itself, Arthur can’t think of anybody he knows who lives in Los Angeles proper—and an apartment in New York and a flat in London. 

It’s nice to go home at the end of the day, even when one home is separated from another by eight timezones. 

Elizabeth stays in the London flat between terms, and Ariadne takes over the New York apartment when she’s in the city for conferences, and Eames can coax at least a couple of the lads to come to L.A. every once in a while, so Arthur feels justified in the amount of real estate they own. 

Arthur’s in the office of the L.A. house, reviewing the final numbers from tour—attendance and ticket revenue and merch sales and all the rest. 

Eames, by choice, doesn’t have a designated work space in the house, and instead spreads his contracts and scripts and choreography sketches all over whichever surface he decides suits him best at that particular moment: the living room floor, the kitchen counter, the guest bed in the spare room that Ariadne prefers. 

Arthur is startled out of his Excel bubble by the particular _ding_ Eames assigned to his own texts. 

_Eames:_ All alone in our bed… [picture attached]

The picture reveals that Eames is, indeed, in their bed, laying on his back, the selfie taken from above so as to include his entire, very shirtless torso. 

From the way Eames’s other hand snakes down out of the frame, Arthur would bet Eames’s bottom half is equally unclothed. 

Arthur takes one moment to grin in the direction of his laptop screen, although the numbers on the spreadsheet no longer have his attention. 

This is his life now—in fact, this _has been_ his life for a while now: a gorgeous boyfriend who will summon him for afternoon sex via text. 

It probably shouldn’t be as charming as it is. 

Arthur stands and grabs his phone from the desk.

_Arthur:_ My office is down the hall! You couldn’t have knocked?

_Eames_ : Where’s the fun in that petal

_Eames_ : Hurry up you know I’ve never been god at one handed texting

_Arthur_ : [sic]

Their bedroom door is wide open, and Arthur leans against the doorway, taking in the view. 

“And Twitter thinks the selfies you actually post are tantalizing enough,” says Arthur. “If only they knew.” 

“I’m only looking out for them,” Eames says. “That could be the picture that sends them over the edge. I don’t want to be responsible for that.” 

“Uh-huh,” says Arthur. He fiddles with the hem of his shirt, the button of his jeans, conscious of Eames’s eyes tracking the movements. 

“Going to give us a hand?” Eames asks. 

“Looks like you’ve already got one,” says Arthur. “What do you need me for?” 

But he tugs off his socks and crosses the room anyway. 

  


(+1) 

**@anotherarthur** : Excited to present the Best New Artist Award at the #2021GrammyAwards later night! So many incredible emerging artists. 

**@eamesss** : Getting ready for the #GrammyAwards tonight! Very proud to be the date of a presenter this year pic.twitter 

**@anotherarthur** : @eamesss Tag your suit porn 

**@eamesss** : @anotherarthur you think we have time for a game of tag before the show? 

**@anotherarthur** : @eamesss … 

**@eamesss** : @anotherarthur got it, after. ;) 

**@atruni** : And today, esteemed members of Twitter, we witnessed a rare phenomenon: a completely clothed mirror selfie from @eamesss himself

**@cassiecregg** : omfg I will forgive Eames for having his shirt on because slkfj dammmmn the tailoring on that suit #suitporn 

**@cali_angel** : I’m guessing that’s going to be a very NSFW game of tag #striptag #suitporn 

**@betsy99** : MY HOMEWORK IS DONE MY CROPS ARE WATERED ALL HAIL @eamesss #blessed #suitporn 

**@thomastom** : Thank you @anotherarthur for giving us the gift of @eamesss dressed up for the Grammys

**@alwaysarthur** : Arthur actually called it porn. That’s a thing that he typed. I can’t. #suitporn 

**@merrilychased** : These two?!?! What did we do to deserve??? 

**@anotherprojection** : If A thinks this is suit porn, wait until the wedding pictures… 

**@joewilczek** : CAN THIS FANDOM PLEASE STOP WITH THE WEDDING RUMORS. 

**@gravitydreams** : @joewilczek excuse you @anotherprojection wasn’t spreading rumors jfc people are allowed to say they’ll have cute wedding pics

**@comicqueen** : Queer people have the right to marry, not the obligation. 

**@ruthiepark** : Okay I’m all about turning everything into a queer history lesson but… maybe they’ll marry maybe they won’t, up to them. Meanwhile #suitporn

**@tessahart** : “Meanwhile #suitporn” should be this fandom’s motto (@ruthiepark)

  


[+1] 

**@anotherarthur** : Missing my dearest, @eamesss pic.twitter 

**@redwiley** : @anotherarthur lose a bet? (... or a game of strip poker with @eamesss?)

**@anotherarthur** : @redwiley No, I didn’t lose a bet. 

**@anotherarthur** : Just wanted to surprise my partner. People keep telling us that after (almost) 5 years we need to make sure to add in some spontaneity. 

**@anotherarthur** : Somehow those people don’t take into account non-negotiable work obligations on opposite sides of the world.

**@anotherarthur** : The hop-on-a-plane thing is… not very practical most of the time. (I’ve also been told it’s the little things that count.)

**@daveeggs** : Aww, @anotherarthur dispensing relationship advice

**@francisinlove** : I can’t believe @anotherarthur is talking about work/relationships, he & Eames can afford to fly all over the world to be together

**@kepleragain** : @francisinlove Celebrities/other privileged people are allowed to miss each other while doing their cool jobs?? WTF 

**@arthurarmy** : I bet A. is the type of person to go through relationship checklists to make sure he’s doing it right :) baby 

**@eastofeames** : @arthurarmy … He’s in his 20s. And seems healthily secure in his relationship. Stop.

**@frankieblues** : Guys guys guys can we focus on the issue at hand. Namely: SHIRTLESS ARTHUR. Um. Yum. 

**@notthelightouse** : *chanting* shirtless Arthur shirtless Arthur shirtless Arthur I HAVE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS DAY (beach pap pics don’t count)

**@teresaforgood** : Selfie battle please??? @anotherarthur @eamesss

**@dcsfinest** : We knew it already, but this is (very welcome) additional evidence that Eames is a very (very very) lucky man 

**@veronica89** : I don’t even know where to look… his abs… his collarbones… his bare shoulders… it’s too much… I feel faint… 

  


“All those words in _Hamilton_ , and not a single ‘fiancé,’” Eames says as he walks in the door the next day, fresh off a plane from London. 

“Hello to you, too,” says Arthur, hopping off one of the breakfast bar stools. 

Eames kisses him once, briefly, then draws back to continue, “Really, I want to lodge a complaint.” 

“Yes, a pity Lin-Manuel wasn’t thinking about us when he finished writing it, oh, before we ever met,” Arthur says, and kisses him again. 

“So rude,” Eames agrees between kisses. “You should have them take away his Grammy.”

Arthur presses a finger to Eames’s lips. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“Apologies to the Grammy gods, and also Mr. Miranda,” Eames says at once, his voice grave. 

“As a Grammy winner, I feel authorized to bestow conditional forgiveness,” says Arthur. He wraps his arms around Eames’s waist. 

(Eames is back. Granted, he wasn’t gone very long, but he’s back and holdable and in Arthur’s arms and he _always will be_ because they’re _getting married_.) 

“I still find it sexy that I’m sleeping with a Grammy winner,” Eames observes. “You know, in case you were wondering whether the shine has worn off.” 

“I really wasn’t,” says Arthur, still pressed close against Eames. “Should I try for a fifth? Thank you in the acceptance speech? You know we can’t delay the wedding now; the liner notes have to be finalized before then, and I’ve already got you down as ‘husband.’” 

Eames brushes a kiss against the side of his head. “Do you think Twitter would believe that your pending liner note counts as dirty talk for us, darling?” 

“Probably.” 

Eames laughs and steps back, tangling their hands together as he pulls Arthur towards the stairs. “Now, I’ve been on a plane for a very long time, and away from my fiancé for more than a week… you’re not going to make me wait any longer to ravish him, are you?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” says Arthur. 


End file.
